The Cursed Bones (Part 1)

Beads of sweat ran down Jade’s neck and into her bra line. She took off one of her gloves and wiped the perspiration off her face. The humidity was one of the few drawbacks to excavating in Thailand. She loved being in the jungle and finding treasures buried in the earth. Others may not have seen human remains as ‘treasures,’ but Jade was fascinated by archeology.

‘Learn their story’ is what her professor; Dr. Zach Taylor, would say about finding human bones. He usually led the excavations, Jade accompanying as his teaching assistant. They had been working together for a couple of years while Jade was studying for her doctorate. This month they were at the Ban Non Wat dig site. Jade had picked an area farther away from the rest of the group. She didn’t know why, but she felt drawn to it.

“Hey there lone wolf,” called a familiar voice. Professor Taylor was descending the ladder.

“Hey professor,” Jade responded with a smile.

“Bloody hell, Jade, it’s been two years. When are ya gonna call me Zach? Being called ‘professa’ makes me feel old,” he said in his soft, Australian accent.

“Oh yeah, about as old as these bones,” Jade retorted.

“You’ve found some then?”

“Getting there,” she responded. Professor Taylor crouched next to her to see what she was excavating. Despite his sweat, Jade could smell his musky cologne. “Who wears designer cologne to a dig site?” she wondered to herself. It was bad enough that she had to get over his charm, handsome face, and bedroom voice, but adding pheromones on top of that? It just wasn’t fair. Jade tried not to breathe in deep.

“Well, keep goin’. Maybe you’ll find somethin’ excitin’,” he said as he playfully tapped her arm with the back of his finger. Then he got up and climbed back out of the site.

“Maybe,” Jade mumbled softly, listening to his retreating footsteps. Her arm tingled slightly where he had touched her. “He’s your professor!” she chided herself. She took a deep breath and got back to work, continuing her humid excavation.

After some time, she finally found signs of bones. Jade carefully chiseled around the remains, then got out her brush to dust the dirt away. There seemed to be something attached to one of the bones that wasn’t dirt, and it wouldn’t come off with her brush. She took off one of her gloves and tried to pick at the spot.

When her skin touched the remains, a shocking chill went through Jade that made her fall back. The cold spread from her fingertips, up her arm, and into her chest. It made her shiver even in the heat of the day, and she was left gasping. “What the hell was that?!”

“Jade, you alrigh’?” Professor Taylor stood at the top of the site again, looking down at her with concern.

“Yeah, I’m good,” Jade lied, the cold feeling starting to subside.

“Then why does it look like you just fell ova?” he asked, descending the ladder to walk over to her. Jade scrambled to her feet.

“I tripped.”

“Uh huh. Let me see ya hand,” and Zach gently turned her gloveless hand to reveal cuts. “Doesn’t look too bad,” he said, shaking his head. “D’ya have a fust aid kit?”

“In my bag,” she pointed. Zach noticed the bone she was excavating as he grabbed the kit from Jade’s bag.

“So you did find somethin’!” he said, walking back to her.

“Yeah, yeah somethin’,” Jade responded.

“Well, good on ya!” He took out the hydrogen peroxide, cotton swabs, and gauze bandages.

“Professor, those really aren’t necessary,” Jade started to protest, but he cut her off.

“If you insist on not wearin’ both of ya gloves,” he swirled a cotton swab inside the bottle of hydrogen peroxide, “then I’ll have to make sure Yer protectin’ ya skin somehow.” He held her hand in his as he cleaned her cuts. It was the most he had ever touched her, and having his skin on hers felt electric. When he was done, he wrapped her hand in gauze. “And again,” he said, still holding her hand in his as he looked her in the eye, “when are ya gonna call me Zach?” The playful demeanor was gone and he held her gaze.

She searched his eyes, before barely whispering his name, “Zach.” She watched his gaze go from her eyes to her mouth when she leaned into him. As his lips met hers, she felt the slight cold feeling in her chest again. This time, however, it felt like jumping into a swimming pool on a hot day. It wasn’t shocking, but refreshing.

The kiss started soft, almost tentative. Zach’s hands went from holding hers, to cradling her face. While their lips tasted each other, Jade ran her hands up his back and pulled him closer. Their kisses went from tentative to hungry, and her fingernails clawed into his back. Zach picked her up and wrapped her legs around his waist, causing Jade to smile and giggle softly.

“What’s so funny?” he asked.

“You don’t know how many times I dreamed of having you between my legs,” she admitted. Zach smiled wide.

“Is that so?” Without warning, he walked over to the wall of the dig site, Jade still straddling his waist, and pinned her up against the dirt wall. She breathed in deep, this time enjoying the scent of his cologne. She wanted to know what it tasted like. She dipped her face into his neck and began running her lips along the top of his shoulder, caressing the skin, then kissing up his neck until she could taste where he had sprayed the fragrance. She bit down and ran her tongue along his skin. Jade heard Zach sigh and felt his hands tighten on her.

“Jade,” he whispered. “Jade! Jade!” he shouted. “Can ya hear me?”

Jade blinked several times and found that she was looking at Zach’s face, but instead of seeing pleasure in his eyes, he looked concerned. She was no longer wrapped around him, but on her back, staring up at him. “Zach?” she asked, her brow furrowing.

“Blimey, you musta hit your head pretty hard. That’s the first time you’ve called me Zach,” he said with a slight smile. Jade realized that her professor was cradling her head in his hands.

“What happened?” she asked.

“Looks like ya fell back and hit ya head,” Zach responded. Jade tried to push herself up. “Easy Jade, we don’t know if you have a concussion.” Jade’s head did feel as if it were spinning, but not from falling.

“I’m okay, just dizzy,” she said. Jade tried to get to her feet, but couldn’t keep her balance. Thankfully, Zach caught her before she collapsed.

“Jade, sit down,” Zach said calmly but firmly. She allowed him to lower her back to the ground since she couldn’t trust her wobbly legs. Once again, she could smell his cologne and when she closed her eyes, she could see him between her legs and feel his lips on hers. The sensations caused a chill to run up her spine and her fingertips to tingle. It made her whole body tremble. “Are ya alrigh’ Jade? Yer shakin’ like a leaf.”

“Yeah, I’m just… cold.” That was the wrong thing to say. Zach’s look of concern changed to one of fear.

“Felix!” Zach called up. Felix was the director of the dig site.

“No, no! I’m okay!” Jade protested.

“Felix, ova here!” Zach called again.

“Really, I’m okay… professor,” she added with some emphasis, but it was too late. Felix was standing at the top of the ladder.

“What’s going on Zach?” he asked.

“Don’t move,” Zach said to Jade, and he walked over to the bottom of the ladder to speak in a low voice to Felix. Jade didn’t hear the entire conversation, but she caught the phrases ‘hit her head,’ ‘might have a concussion,’ and ‘feels cold.’ Jade hated this; being fussed over. It wasn’t a big deal, she only tripped… and experienced a very vivid hallucination once her head hit the ground… no big deal.

“Stay with her, I’m gonna get her something to eat and make a phone call for a physician,” Felix said to Zach.

“Thanks Felix.” Felix nodded and turned back to the main tent. Zach walked back over to Jade and sat himself across from her. “Alrigh’ Jade, I just want to check a few things,” and he reached into one of his pockets to pull out a small flashlight. “Just follow this with yer eyes,” and he slowly moved the light from left to right in front of her eyes. “Okay, that’s good.”

“Maybe for you, I feel blinded,” Jade retorted.

“Still have ya sense of huma! That’s good too,” her professor said with a wide smile as he put the flashlight back in his pocket. “Now, I want to make sure ya head’s not bleedin’,” he said as he reached for the back of her head.

“It’s not, it’s not bleeding,” Jade said quickly, pulling away from him.

“Jade, it’s a precaution. Please,” and he reached out to her again. This time, Jade didn’t pull away. She let him feel around her scalp. The proximity caused her breath to quicken. She started to tremble again with the chilly feeling back in her chest once more. She couldn’t bring herself to make eye contact with him, so she tried looking down. She saw his button up shirt partially opened, revealing his exposed chest, wet with perspiration. The hallucination of getting picked up and straddled around him played in her mind again, and she shut her eyes tight to try and push the thought away. It was at that moment Professor Taylor touched upon a tender part of her head and she made a pained gasp.

“Sorry,” he said. “Well, no blood, but that’s quite a bump ya got there.” Jade reached behind her head to feel the bump he found. It was large and sensitive. She made an involuntary face. “Are you still cold? You were shiverin’ again.”

“Um, I’m alright,” Jade lied. Zach gave her another concerned look, but wasn’t able to press the topic, as Felix was at the top of the ladder again with juice and snacks.

“Someone should be here in about an hour to take a look at you, Jade,” he said as he descended the steps.

“Felix, I’m okay, rea-” Jade tried to say.

“In the meantime,” Felix continued, cutting her off. “I want you to take this,” he handed her a Tylenol, “with these,” handing her the juice and snacks. He then sat down next to her and Zach, forming a half circle. Both men stared at her, waiting. Jade sighed and opened the bottle of juice. She drank the pill down, opened the bag of chips, and began munching. Both men seemed satisfied, and Felix turned to Zach. “Well?” he asked.

“She’s not bleeding, but she’s got quite the bump on her head and she was shiverin’ while I examined her,” Zach reported. Felix’s brow furrowed and he looked down.

“Tattle tale,” Jade thought. “All this for a stumble.” Aloud, she said, “I’m okay! Really, I am.”

“We’ll let the physician decide that,” Felix said, “but right now, I don’t want to hear another peep from you until you finish that bag.”

Jade polished off the last of the chips before saying, “you said the physician won’t be here for another hour, I can at least keep digging until then.”

“Can ya even stand now?” Zach asked. Jade felt her cheeks flush before she pushed off the ground to get to her feet. Zach was quicker to move than she, and was at her side. Her head spun slightly and she wavered a moment, but she held on to Zach’s arm for support. “I’m not tryin’ to hurt ya pride, Jade. I want to make sure yer alrigh’. Just take it easy.” Jade nodded and took a deep breath to steady herself, but once again, her sense of smell was filled with her professor’s musky cologne. She wanted to get some distance from him.

“I’m… I’m alright,” Jade said, letting go of his arm. She took a few steps away from Zach, albeit wobbly, and squared her feet. She closed her eyes and took several deep breaths to clear her nose of his scent. When she opened her eyes again, both Zach and Felix were watching her closely. “I’m okay. I can stand. I can walk.” She paced in front of them. “I’m good,” Jade said with a smile.

“Stay with her until the physician gets here,” Felix mumbled to Zach as he stood up and made for the ladder.

“Yep, Will do,” Zach replied. Jade couldn’t help her eyes from rolling in exasperation. Felix climbed out and Jade was left alone with her professor again. She sighed heavily and turned to get her bag.

“You shouldn’t have to babysit me, it’s just a bump on the head,” Jade said with her back to him.

“Accompanied by occasional chills at peak humidity,” Zach said softly.

“I’m fine,” she said, rummaging around in her bag, searching for her other glove.

Zach sighed and stood to his feet. “Jade, I’m not babysittin’ ya. I’m genuinely concerned. When I found ya unconscious down ‘ere, I was scared. Forgive me for wantin’ to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

Jade turned to look at him, still holding her bag. “Thank you for your concern, professor. Don’t worry, it won’t happen again.”

Zach’s brow furrowed a little. “How’d it happen, anyway?”

“What?”

“How did ya foll?”

“Oh,” Jade scrambled for an explanation. “Tripped I guess.” She was afraid that telling the truth really would make her sound concussed.

“Uh huh.” Zach slowly walked towards her. “Ya sure that’s oll?”

He was too close again and his eyes were boring into hers. She remembered how those eyes gazed into hers before he kissed her. The images of her hallucination began swirling in her head again. Without realizing it, she was leaning into him with hooded eyes.

“Jade, yer goin’ cross-eyed,” Zach said with concern.

That snapped her back to reality. “Oh Jesus,” Jade thought. She turned her back to him and took several steps away, shaking her head. “He’s your professor. You’re hallucinating, and he just watched you go cross-eyed!” she thought in embarrassment.

“Jade, wait, look at me,” Zach said, concerned. He approached her, Jade’s back still to him. “Please,” he said, gently placing his hand on her shoulder. As soon as he touched her, Jade felt as if there were a cold breeze against her, causing her shivers once more. Zach recoiled. She heard him sigh heavily. “Jade, is there somethin’ yer not tellin’ me?”

She gulped. “Only that I felt some kind of electric shock from touching remains with my bare skin and now I’m hallucinating about you physically and every time I do, it feels like ice gets dropped into my chest. Other than that, nope, everything’s fine,” she thought to herself. She bit her lip.

Professor Taylor walked around to face her. “We’ve been workin’ togetha fur years, and I’ve neva seen ya shakin’ like this before… literally!” he added.

Jade sighed. She felt guilty not telling him anything, but things would just get worse if she did. She couldn’t admit to hallucinating, he might banish her to the hospital. Or worse, he might ask what she hallucinated about. It wouldn’t have been the first time she had imagined something between them though, but this time was just far more vivid, it had seemed so real. Maybe there was a pheromone in the cologne he was wearing, and maybe she really had tripped and bumped her head. Either way, she didn’t want him fussing over her. Afterall, the closer her professor got to her, the more her mind was filled with intrusive thoughts. “I just,” she paused for a moment, searching. “Tripped over my bag,” she said, indicating the pack in her hand. “ And got knocked out from the fall.”

“And the shivers? How do ya explain those?”

“Winter is coming,” she joked.

Her professor just shook his head and smiled. “Alrigh’ Jade, we’ll see what the physician has to say. In the meantime, why don’t ya show me what you were workin’ on?” He indicated the exposed bone she had been excavating.

“No!” she all but barked at him. There was a long pause while Professor Taylor’s eyebrows climbed up his forehead. “I mean, I think I’d rather just wait. For the physician.” Her professor’s eyes narrowed on her as he began walking toward the bones. “Wait!” She ran in front of him and faced him, hands held up. Jade took a deep breath. “Zach,” she said slowly, “please don’t touch those remains.”

Just in case there was something wrong with her from coming in contact with those bones, the last thing she wanted was to have her professor in danger too. However, he slowly stepped around her and walked to the remains anyway. He knelt down, examining them. “At least use your gloves!” Jade said with anxiety.

“The way you did?” he commented with a smirk, picking up the glove she had taken off before she was knocked out. He took out his own gloves that he kept in his back pockets and slipped them on, then used her brush to start sweeping the bones. “What is that?” he asked, indicating the same spot she had tried to pick at. Jade watched her professor try to scratch the bones through his gloved fingers. He took off one of his gloves.

“Don’t!” Jade yelled, as Zach touched the remains.